The Five Fists of ScienceReview

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Mark Twain the character is not nearly as good as Mark Twain the writer.

By Richard George

Upon finishing The Five Fists of Science, I realized that I had just read The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen "Lite". Fists attempts to capture the same glory of its Moore-made counterpart, but fails to execute subtle elements that make League good. The plot is not much, and that's accentuated by the fact that the characters have no depth. Writer Matt Fraction seems to be under the impression that the reputations of these historical figures will fill in the empty spaces. They do not, and as such the book lacks substance. It is such a shame that this graphic novel does not deliver; the concept alone is likely to get many people very excited.

Fists is a tale of good and evil. It is a tale of peace and war. In an era where mankind trumpets its superiority and technological advancement in destruction, few are really eager to stand up for peace. Peace is seen as a weak stance and one that is never truly achievable. Mark Twain belongs to both schools of thought, despite desiring peace. He believes that friction and conflict is inevitable, but that peace should still be sought. His associates and partners, Nikola Tessla and Timothy Boone (a purely fictional character), form the "Five Fists of Science." Together they believe they have a plan to get the world to cease its race to annihilation. Twain believes that peace can be achieved by compulsion - if every nation believes that all of the others can eradicate it, what incentive does it have to start a war that it will not survive? It is a very compelling idea, and is even somewhat applicable to today's powerful nations.

The story in Fists is pretty basic, though at first glance it seems radical and full of potential. Twain and Tessla want peace. J.P. Morgan, Thomas Edison, Guglielmo Marconi and Andrew Carnegie want to create chaos. Morgan channels dark magic and seeks to tap into another dimension to channel creatures into the world. This might seem to have the makings of a classic, but because the characters are fairly one-dimensional, there isn't much substance.

Matt Fraction does try to make his characters likeable. Twain is bankrupt and Tessla is a rather eccentric fellow. The villains, including Edison and Morgan, are all rather insane in their own, unique ways. The problem is that most of the characters have traits that aren't very complex. The fact that Twain has no money is not exactly something you can write pages about. Fraction often has his poor hero lamenting about money, but it gets old. The same goes for many of the other characters - their "depth" is more akin to a simple joke than a personality.

The highlight of the book comes in the form of Steve Sanders. His interpretation of Fraction's script is excellent; when Fraction is trying to make a joke, Sanders captures the moment perfectly. It is difficult to do visual comedy, but this creative team pulls it off well. Sanders' work looks like a painted sketchbook, and it fits the period of the piece rather well. Everything has an older feel to it, while the colors brilliantly set the tone of the scene. If the pencils were any more complex the book would lose its quaint and playful tone, and if the colors were weaker the sense of menace and doom would be lost in many scenes. The art works despite the script's shortcomings, and provides no shortage of amusing moments.

It's unfortunate that Five Fists fails to achieve a noteworthy emotional tale. The humor, when it is there, is quite amusing. The story, although not nearly as fascinating as it should be, works on a solid level. It feels like this is a book that could have been far more than it ever managed to be. The characters are far too modestly developed, especially when considering who these caricatures represent. Simply reading some of Mark Twain's writing reveals a man far more amusing and sophisticated than what Matt Fraction pulled off. Fists has moments of brilliance, especially when observing Steven Sanders' art, but that is offset by a general tone of mediocrity. This is a book that you will anticipate and wonder how Fraction managed to under deliver it. Like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Fists is playing in a goldmine of material, but unfortunately it fails to gather enough gold.